DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A teacher in an Iowa district that has been criticized for discriminating against minorities says she regrets wearing blackface for a Halloween costume and that she didn’t know it is offensive. The Davenport school district has said its investigating teacher Megan Luloff , who wore the makeup for her costume when she attended an Oct. 19 party unconnected to her job.

Her attorney said in a letter Wednesday that Luloff had never heard the term blackface, didn’t know its history or “how hurtful it is to all African-Americans.” The letter also says Luloff regrets her actions. A district spokeswoman Thursday would confirm only that Luloff remains employed. The district is under state supervision because a disproportionate number of minority students have been identified for special education and subjected to discipline.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A bishop is vowing to relocate a priest who’s living in an Iowa retirement home close to a Roman Catholic school despite his history of sexually abusing boys. The announcement follows an Associated Press story exposing the church’s three-decade cover-up of abuse by the Rev. Jerome Coyle. Coyle admitted in 1986 that he sexually abused approximately 50 boys over 20 years while serving at several Iowa parishes.

The Diocese of Sioux City didn’t tell police or the public, instead transferring Coyle to a treatment center in New Mexico and stripping him of his parish assignments. In June, the diocese moved Coyle to the Marian Home in Fort Dodge, across the street from Saint Edmonds Catholic School. School administrators weren’t informed. Bishop R. Walker Nickless says Coyle won’t stay there.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 7-p.m. Wednesday, of 21-year old Chance Ryan Beres, of Malvern. Beres was taken into custody on a Poweshiek County warrant for three-counts of Arson in the 2nd Degree and Arson in the 3rd Degree. His bond was set at $32,000.

According to reports, Beres pled guilty on October 1st to second-degree arson for setting a fire that destroyed a building in rural Poweshiek County in May. He was granted a deferred judgment. Following his arrest on that charge, authorities alleged Beres was responsible for numerous fires in the county. The Des Moines Register reported at the time that Beres was an EMT with Midwest Ambulance in Grinnell and was a probationary member of the Montezuma Volunteer Fire Department and EMS.

Separately, 57-year old Steven Craig Needham, of Pacific Junction, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, for Simple Assault. His bond was set at $300.

TRAER, Iowa (AP) — Officials say the remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Pearl Harbor attack are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the remains of 22-year-old William Kvidera, of Traer, will be buried Nov. 16. He was a carpenter’s mate 3rd class assigned to the USS Oklahoma. The battleship capsized on Dec. 7, 1941, after being struck by Japanese torpedoes. His remains were among those not identified after their recovery. They were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The agency says the remains were removed from the cemetery in April 2015 and identified through DNA and dental analysis and other evidence. He was listed as accounted for on July 3.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says presidential adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump is coming to Iowa on Friday to support the Republican governor in the final days of the campaign. Reynolds is running against Democrat Fred Hubbell in a tight race for governor. Hubbell appeared on stage with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Last month, Reynolds stood with President Donald Trump at an event in Council Bluffs, and Reynolds hosted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a fundraising event.

Friday’s invitation-only round-table event with Ivanka Trump will be held at a West Des Moines restaurant and will focus on what Reynolds calls pro-growth policies. The event will not be open to the public.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Crews have been spending months slowly deconstructing a former power plant in Dubuque but their efforts only recently became noticeable after taking down a pair of towering stacks.
The Telegraph Herald reports that Alliant Energy’s Dubuque Generating Station stopped creating power more than a year ago. The facility primarily used coal until it transitioned to natural gas in 2011. Jill Stevens is Alliant’s manager of environmental and decommissioning services. She says the building will be deconstructed “carefully and meticulously.” Crews recently began focusing on the building’s exterior.

Alliant spokesman Mike Wagner says the decommissioning symbolizes the company’s shift toward a cleaner-energy future. He says the deconstruction work will be complete by March. Wagner says the company is unsure what they’ll do with the site.